It's not just Shiffrin and Vonn. The US Ski Team has multiple medal contenders for the Olympics

SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria (AP) — A year before the Winter Olympics, the U.S. Ski Team just had a performance to remember.

The women’s squad won medals in four out of five events at the world championships in Austria and also had two fourth places. The Americans finished fourth in the mixed team parallel. And the men just missed the podium with a fourth in the new team combined race.

The only event the women did not win a medal in was the slalom, when Mikaela Shiffrin — the winningest slalom skier in history — placed fifth just behind teammate Paula Moltzan in fourth.

With Lindsey Vonn expecting to be more competitive come the Milan-Cortina Olympics in 2026 as she regains speed in her comeback from nearly six years of retirement, the U.S. women have multiple medal contenders in every event.

And the men in 2026 will be competing on a slope in Bormio where Ryan Cochran-Siegle has had some of the best results of his career.

At the last Winter Games in Beijing three years ago, Cochran-Siegle won the Americans’ only skiing medal with a silver in super-G while the women didn’t bring home any hardware at all.

“I don’t remember during the time that I’ve been skiing having this much depth,” Shiffrin said. “It’s been incredible to watch that build over the years and kind of culminating this world championships. And I hope it continues to build over the next year and the next several years.”

Rising speed skier Lauren Macuga started things off with a bronze in super-G; Breezy Johnson took a stunning victory in the downhill and then teamed with Shiffrin to win another gold in the team combined; and Moltzan earned a bronze in giant slalom.

Cochran-Siegle and partner Ben Ritchie came close to a medal when they finished one spot off the podium in combined.

The U.S. team hasn’t had this many medal threats since the days when Bode Miller, Ted Ligety, Vonn and Julia Mancuso were racing together.

The 40-year-old Vonn saw the potential as soon as she rejoined the team.

“I’m really proud of all of them. Lauren is 22 and she’s got a lot of amazing things ahead of her. And the fact that Breezy’s back after her injury -- her knee is pretty bad -- the fact that she’s world champion is incredibly impressive,” Vonn said.

Women’s skiing at the Olympics will be held in Cortina d’Ampezzo, where Vonn holds the record of 12 World Cup wins and where Jacqueline Wiles, another U.S. downhiller, has been on the podium twice.

“I am really excited for the Olympics next year because across the board, we have a lot of talent and a lot of potential,” Vonn said. “And I know we’re going to do incredible things together.”

Added Moltzan, “I think we can medal in every event.”

Cochran-Siegle earned the only World Cup victory of his career in Bormio four seasons ago and also has three other top-five finishes on the demanding Stelvio course.

“I’m hoping that as a team we’re competitive,” Cochran-Siegle said. “Nothing is given, everything is earned. But I’m hoping that it’s a really good Olympic venue.”

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

United States' A.J. Hurt and United States' Lindsey Vonn, right, smile at the finish area of a slalom run of a women's team combined event, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Lindsey Vonn is airborne during a women's downhill race, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, left, shares a light moment with United States' Lauren Macuga, third-placed in a women's Super-G, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Paula Moltzan shows her bronze medal for a women's giant slalom, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lauren Macuga celebrates moments before being given a bronze medal for a women's Super-G, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

United States' Breezy Johnson shows her gold medal for a women's downhill and for a women's team combined event, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Mikaela Shiffrin, top left, and United States' Breezy Johnson, top right, celebrate with the team after winning the gold medal in a women's team combined event, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Mikaela Shiffrin, left, and United States' Breezy Johnson listen to the national anthem as they wear their gold medals for a women's team combined event, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Retired professional baseball player Lenny Dykstra faces charges after Pennsylvania State Police said a trooper found drugs and paraphernalia in his possession during a traffic stop on New Year's Day.

Dykstra, 62, was a passenger when the vehicle was pulled over by a trooper with the Blooming Grove patrol unit in Pike County, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Scranton, where Dykstra lives.

Police said in a statement that charges will be filed but did not specify what they may be or what drugs were allegedly involved.

Matthew Blit, Dykstra’s lawyer, said in a statement that the vehicle did not belong to Dykstra and he was not accused of being under the influence of a substance at the scene.

“To the extent charges are brought against him, they will be swiftly absolved,” Blit said.

Dykstra's gritty style of play over a long career with the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies earned him the nickname “Nails.” He spent years as a businessman before running into a series of legal woes.

Dykstra served time in a California prison for bankruptcy fraud, sentenced to more than six months for hiding baseball gloves and other items from his playing days. That ran concurrent with a three-year sentence for pleading no contest to grand theft auto and providing a false financial statement. He claimed he owed more than $31 million and had only $50,000 in assets.

In April 2012, Dykstra pleaded no contest to exposing himself to women he met through Craigslist.

In 2019, Dykstra pleaded guilty on behalf of his company, Titan Equity Group, to illegally renting out rooms in a New Jersey house that it owned. He agreed to pay about $3,000 in fines.

That same year a judge dropped drug and terroristic threat charges against Dykstra after an altercation with an Uber driver. Police said they found cocaine, MDMA and marijuana among his belongings. Dykstra's lawyer called that incident “overblown” and said he was innocent.

And in 2020 a New York Supreme Court judge dismissed a defamation lawsuit that Dykstra filed against former Mets teammate Ron Darling over his allegation that Dykstra made racist remarks toward an opponent during the 1986 World Series.

Justice Robert D. Kalish said Dykstra’s reputation “for unsportsmanlike conduct and bigotry” had already been so tarnished that it could not be damaged further.

“Based on the papers submitted on this motion, prior to the publication of the book, Dykstra was infamous for being, among other things, racist, misogynist, and anti-gay, as well as a sexual predator, a drug-abuser, a thief, and an embezzler,” Kalish wrote.

FILE - Former baseball player Lenny Dykstra sits during his sentencing for grand theft auto in Los Angeles, on Dec. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)